The present invention is directed to trash receptacles and more particularly to a trash receptacle with means for breaking the vacuum which is created when the flexible plastic liner disposed therein is removed after being filled with refuse material.
Conventionally, trash or other refuse material is collected and bagged in a flexible plastic liner placed within a rigid, upstanding receptacle. Typically, in residential and commercial trash collection, however, it has been observed that the plastic liner due to its flexible nature tends to cling to the inside wall of the trash receptacle, and as the trash liner is progressively filled with refuse material, the liner further clings to the trash receptacle wall and ultimately substantially fills the space defined by the receptacle wall. During this process, any air present between the liner and the receptacle wall slowly leaks out, and when the trash-filled liner occupies the interior space of the receptacle, a vacuum is created between the trash liner and the receptacle wall and the receptacle base portion lying beneath the liner. Accordingly, when a user lifts the trash liner, the suction pressure due to the vacuum counteracts removal of the trash liner. This necessarily makes it difficult to remove the trash liner from the trash receptacle.
A few examples of various trash receptacles and valve means are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,403,696; 3,454,182; 3,815,778; 4,254,602; 4,294,379, and German No. 2,919,670. However, these receptacles are complicated in design and relatively expensive to manufacture.